Tesla nears Australian sales record

Tesla is poised to set a new Australian annual sales record after recovering almost all the ground lost during two years of declining deliveries.

The US electric car brand has delivered 45,755 vehicles through October, leaving it needing just 362 more sales across November and December to surpass its 2023 record of 46,116.

However, the milestone is approaching as its monthly delivery rate softens. October’s 4050 deliveries were Tesla’s lowest since April and followed a decline in September.

Figures released by the Electric Vehicle Council show the scale of Tesla’s turnaround from 2025, when its Australian sales fell 24.%.

That followed a 16.8% decline in 2024.

With two months still to run, Tesla’s 2026 tally is already 58.6% higher than its entire 2025 result. Compared with the equivalent January–October period, deliveries have climbed from 23,569 to 45,755 – a very large gain.

The recovery has been dominated by the Tesla Model Y SUV family, which has contributed 39,035 deliveries this year, up 117.2% compared to the same time last year.

That includes 8439 vehicles separately identified in the EVC records as the new three-row Tesla Model Y L, with deliveries recorded from July.

The Model Y family supplied 3105 October sales, comprising 1010 Model Y L vehicles and 2095 examples from the rest of the range.

Both parts of the SUV line-up eased compared with September. Model Y L deliveries fell 42.7%, while the remaining Model Y variants were down 22.8%.

Combined, the family’s October volume fell 30.6 per cent to its lowest level since April.

The Model 3 sedan, with a cheaper new model coming onstream, had a comparatively stronger month within the context of its own year. Its 945 deliveries made October its third-biggest month of 2026, behind August and September.

That was still a 19.8 per cent decline from September, although comfortably ahead of the 181 Model 3s delivered in October 2025. Year-to-date sedan deliveries have increased 20.1 per cent to 6720.

Tesla’s overall October result was its sixth-biggest monthly total this year. June remains the high point at 8670 deliveries, followed by August with 7685 and May with 6433.

Deliveries have now declined for two consecutive months. Nevertheless, October volume was up 342.1 per cent on the unusually low 916 deliveries recorded a year earlier.

Polestar, the other brand included in the EVC’s monthly report, has followed a different trajectory.

Its October deliveries fell 23.4 per cent to 118, taking its year-to-date total to 1799, down 11.0 per cent to compared to its 2025 tally for the same period.

Tesla’s next milestone requires only a fraction of its recent monthly volume: another 362 deliveries would establish a new Australian annual record.

The broader October market picture will emerge with the release of the FCAI’s VFACTS data, which covers most other manufacturers.

Perhaps of more importance for Tesla's sustained longevity is the announcement of new products. The Tesla Cybercab is currently rolling out in the USA and the new Roadster has been announced for 2028 but more SUVs or smaller city runabouts that would drive more sales volume have only been mentioned in passing.